Everybody stand up...

....and give Cohen a round of applause....

I don't have a picture yet but at therapy today, Cohen stood supported( hands on a bench) for the first time!!!

And starting a few days ago he is "crawling" backwards( inchworming, really) It's not forward, but it's motion and we will gladly take it!! He is absolutely furious about it! He will see something he wants, and start moving, and is SOOOO mad that it is not in the direction he intends for it to be!! I shouldn't laugh at him, but I do!! It's so unbelievable cute!!

So, now I have to replace our video camera that is broken( along with the computer, and portable phones, mind you:)) pronto!!

Crash

So, our computer crashed...that iswhy I've been MIA. We haven't lost anything as far as files, pictures, etc. go(so thankful!!!) but we have lost the computer. It'll probably be a little bit before we can replace it so I'll be a little more few and far between for now. Thankfully, Chris has a laptop for work so I can at least check emails and stuff at night but nothing is really compatible on here from our other computer because we use a MAC at home. I have to admit I'm a bit put out with electronics right now... our computer, our portable phone, and our video camera are on the outs. No fun!!

I'll try to still get some updates up here and there so I'm not totally behind but not sure how much I can realistically promise!!

For now, I did want to document a few things about sweet Cohen:

1. He now has 3 teeth!! 2 bottom and 1 top. I've gotten so use to him with that gummy grin, that it is weird to all of a sudden see teeth there!! But, it's a new kinda cute and I love it.

2. On the same subject, Cohen had his first dentist appointment and he did great. He cried a little but not too bad. The dentist said that for now, she thought his teeth look great and that the enamel was normal, shiny, and strong. This is a huge blessing!!! With, DI, different teeth can be effected differently and there can be varying degrees of visual symptoms, so we're still sort of waiting and seeing but we are praising God for seemingly strong teeth for now that aren't requiring any immediate medical intervention!! And I've got some adorable pics of him having his first ( sugar free of course) sucker!!(i'll have to wait until we can get a new computer to post those because they were already uploaded off my camera!!!)

3. We are so proud of Cohen right now.. he has made so much progress over the past few weeks. To the outside world, I imagine that a lot of it looks small individually, but to us, it's huge and put it all together and it's quite a big deal. We couldn't be more thrilled. He's been gesturing a lot more for his wants and needs, doing a few signs(more and eat), and vocalizing more. He's bearing some weight on his legs in a "pulled up" position for a few seconds, and occasionally tolerating quadruped. He's also been problem solving a lot with his toys, putting objects in containers and in small openings, rolling balls back and forth, and using his pointer finger more. And get this... two times this week, I have found him...

.....SITTING UP IN HIS CRIB!!!!!!!!!! I haven't seem him in action but know it might just be around the corner now!!



Yea Cohen!!!!

Every Other Day and a Facelift

*Updated... thanks to Melody and a very simple step I missed, I got the header centered. Yea. Thanks Melody.


I was inspired...by Angie over at PoppyJoy.. .and she was right, it was quick, easy, and free. I'm pretty pleased with my first attempt at spicing up my blog. What do you think? Anyone know how to get my header centered?

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Who ever has told me( and plenty people have) that age 3 is harder than age 2... they were right. Half a year in, I am a firm believer in that statement. There's just so much to teach to shape these little ones into the people we pray for them to be.

But with it being the hardest stage, it sure has some upsides too.




Have I mentioned how much I love this little now 3.5 year old curious, insightful, adventurous, silly little boy?

But seriously, he trips me up. He's so funny and way too smart for his own good sometimes. It's been a while since I've documented some "cortism's" but there has been some good one's lately so I had to get them down.


When seeing a turtle on tv the other day with Chris....

Cort: I call him "dude"(bc of finding Nemo)

Chris: Dude?

Cort: Yes, and the baby turtles, I call " Dudies"

Leave it to a boy to always get in potty talk!

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Walking down the hallway to come use the potty...

Cort: Mommy, I'm picking my nose.

Me: Don't pick your nose Cort, ask for a tissue.

Cort: Oh, yeah, that's right. I just pick my nose when you leave the room.

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The other night, when our friend Ryan ( props to another Daddy coming to babysit our kiddos) came to watch the kids...

Chris: Cort, you need to obey Mr. Ryan and when he puts you in bed, don't call out for him again.

Cort: Why? He doesn't discipline me when I won't go to bed.

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Much to my dismay, here's our conversation in the car yesterday after a good lecture teaching experience:

Me: I love you, Cort...

Cort: ( says nothing) You love Daddy.

Me:Yes, I do love Daddy. I love you too.Do you love Mommy?

Cort: I love Daddy.

Me: And you love Mommy.

Cort: No, just Daddy.

Me: ( totally light hearted - not taking it personally here) That's not very kind. Why not Mommy?

Cort: Because I don't like you. ( mind you, big smile on his face but if I'm totally honest, that one hurt a bit)

Me: ( I'll spare you the details but some other rambling about it being ok to be silly but not if it might hurt others feelings and we need to think about how what we say effects others...)

Cort: Let's talk about choo choo trains.

So glad he learned a lot!! :)

Fast forward to today...

Cort: Mommy, can Daddy go away and you have another boy? ( Disclaimer: Cort is obsessed with his Daddy- maybe infatuated - he meant no harm by this just doesn't totally know how to express his thoughts yet:))

Me( a bit shocked): What other boy?

Cort: Me!!! It can be just me and you today. ( which is was, Daddy was at work, Cohen was napping)

Me: Why do you say that?

Cort: Because I really like you! ( smiles, plants a big kiss on me, and runs away)

Melt my heart. Guess he listened a little yesterday.... maybe. :)


Did I mention that I really like him too?

Even if he only likes me every other day. ;)

4th of July

We had a fun filled 4th of July this year. We started out heading to a local park for a little festival they were having... the boys had a great time at the park and playing on the bounce houses...










After naps at home, we headed to a get together with our small group for some good food and GREAT company ( somehow, only the two pictures below really came out from pics that night.. no idea why) and then we all walked back down to that same park for a concert.

I seriously think that Cort may have eaten like 10 wedges of watermelon!!!


Cohen did not take his eyes off the band. If you got in his line of sight, he would lean way over to see around you. So funny.


We headed out before they did their fireworks because it was just a it to late for our boys but we did do a few fireworks in our front yard before tucking them in. In the past, Cort, has only been a fan of firework in theory...in practice, he's been quite scared of them. We did some pretty low key ones this year and no near by neighbors were doing them... that went well and he really enjoyed it...as with most things, Cohen loved it too.

We'd move there if we could...

Seriously... we love the beach. I mean, I guess that doesn't make us much different than most people but really, we would move there if we could. My boys have some major staying power for being so young. We made them come up for naps and to get out of the sun but I really think they would stay all day!

Cort enjoys playing on the beach... building sandcastles, digging, looking for shells, driving cars through tunnels, flying kites, walking, etc. He loves a tidal pool and the idea of the ocean but he takes a while to warm up to it. By the end of the week we had him in there, jumping waves with the best of them but he much prefers the edge and a waveless tidal pool.







Cohen's a different story... he LOVES the water. I think he would stay in the water long enough shrivel all the way up if we let him. We've never done this before, but we took a small baby pool down with us and filled it with ocean water. It was a great way to let him continue to play in the water but sit in the shade from time to time. But he loved the ocean. He would laugh and smile so big when he waves came crashing in on him and frantically sign more and fuss as they drifted back out to sea. We got a pretty good laugh at wondering what people were thinking about us having our "little, tiny baby" out in the ocean. From afar, it does look like we were torturing a 2 month old out in the waves!! Cohen liked the sand too and didn't eat it as much as he did when we were at the beach a month ago.









We had a great time with my family.... I think everyone got to do a little of everything they hoped too. We went to Holden beach where I grew up going with my family. We always stayed on the canal so my dad good indulge his fishing hobby. The kiddos loved this aspect and I'd venture to say loved the time on the dock just as much as the beach. Cort loved having cousin Chandler there to play with. And Cohen loved watching them play. And who doesn't enjoy 7 days of grandparents doting? As always, I so enjoy getting to hang out and spend time with my sister, though we both had our noses stuck in a book when ever the chance arose. I finished three books and half of another while were there. I LOVE to read, but rarely get to do it in this season in life. Really, I have to just not read these days, because I'm a bit of an addict when I get started and can't put a book down. My family would suffer for sure if I indulged my reading hobby!

Some other random beach pics...

Cort and Chandler playing on the beach together...



Cort's first fish...



More fishing...

Enjoying Chris' boat and the canal...

What's a trip to the beach without icecream?
And who needs a double jogging stroller? ( an innocent bystander was VERY concerned that we were letting our baby get squashed by Cort!!)
on the pier...




Cohen's first bike ride...not a fan of Cort's helmet( we forgot the smaller one at home)



So flexible...and to put the picture in perspective..his leg is straight...


Wonder Cort... my mom gave cort this super hero cape ensemble but Cort doesn't know any super heroes..just Wonder Pets.. so he spent the week saving numerous animals in great peril...


We had several events while at the beach..

Father's Day...The BEST Daddy EVER!!


And my birthday! Last one before the big 30!!

My beautiful cake made by Cort and Chris... Cort has had very specific desires for each of our cakes since his birthday.. Cohen - a monkey, Chris - a car, Mommy - a butterfly. Props to Chris for pulling it off at the beach! Super creative and really yummy!!


And last but not least, the weekly seafood feast... the crabs were all one's we actually caught. We bought the shrimp.


Major thanks to my parents for a wonderful beach vacation!!!!!